Grantmaking Strategy

The Hogg Foundation has established a competitive process for awarding grants to achieve greater results with our limited funds. During our strategic planning process, foundation staff met with state and national stakeholders to identify critical areas in which the foundation’s grantmaking could have a significant impact. All of our priority funding areas — consumers, youth and families; dialogue and learning; public policy; and workforce — are the product of ongoing strategic planning.

The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Rather, we use requests for proposals (RFPs) for specific grant programs. Funding decisions are made entirely according to the merit of the proposals received. A rating instrument is used to evaluate the grant proposals and identify a subset for possible funding. For every grant program, a grant review committee is the merits of each proposal that is considered for funding. Grant programs are then assigned to a program officer who is responsible for day-to-day management, including communication and coordination with grantees.

The foundation makes a concerted effort to publicize open RFPs in a timely manner. In addition, the foundation routinely distributes news releases announcing the latest grant awards. News releases provide a good sense of the foundation’s funding priorities, as well as insight into what makes for a compelling proposal.

Questions about grant initiatives and RFPs must be submitted by email. To avoid a conflict of interest, foundation staff do not accept phone calls regarding requests for proposals. For each RFP, we also provide an informational teleconference that gives prospective applicants an opportunity to ask questions of program staff directly. Finally, with every online RFP announcement we also provide a “Questions and Answers” document that contains answers to the most frequently asked questions about that particular grant. This document is updated after the teleconference.

What We Do Not Fund

Mental health conditions and substance use disorders are conventionally grouped under the category of “behavioral health.” The Hogg Foundation’s primary focus is mental health, and we currently do not have grant programs devoted solely to substance use disorders. This is in keeping with the directives of the organization’s founder, Miss Ima Hogg, as well as a reflection of the areas of expertise of foundation staff members.

We also distinguish mental health conditions from intellectual and developmental disabilities such as autism, Alzheimer’s and mental retardation. Although these issues are vitally important, they mostly fall outside of our programmatic focus. Some of our grant programs, however, acknowledge that intellectual/developmental disabilities frequently co-occur with mental health conditions.

What We Do Not Do

Even though the Hogg Foundation is passionately devoted to mental health, we are not a direct provider of mental health services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness all have excellent resources for those seeking mental health services for themselves or a loved one. The foundation’s own writings and publications on various aspects of mental health are no substitute for advice from a qualified mental health professional. If you are in need of immediate assistance, call 911 or the 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Grantseeker & Grantee Information

Most Hogg Foundation grants are awarded through a competitive request for proposals. Texas-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible to apply for most grants, including universities, state and local government agencies, and mental health, social service, and public policy organizations.